Reasons
by Kylink
Summary: Sequel to Relief. Morgan stays behind in this time even after all of the children have gone back to their own world. He plans to leave soon as well, but first he has to know one thing...what happened to Lucina after she mysteriously disappeared? Post-game spoilers. Implied character death. Oneshot.


Years passed since the war's end, and so much had happened along the way. Chrom's reign as king was going smoothly, and the Risen and Grimleal have all but faded into a distant nightmare. Life had returned to normal for the people of Ylisse and Valm, and a lot of the Shepherds have long since moved on from their days in the army to start their own lives and families. But even in this new era of peace in the world, there was still a bit of unrest in the back of everyone's minds, and that was the sudden disappearance of Lucina.

Of course, no one was that shocked that she had left, considering that she had hinted numerous times that she was intending to go back to her own time once the fight with Grima ended on a satisfying note. However, they were a little surprised when she just up and vanished out of nowhere, with no clue as to where she was going. Chrom and Robin felt it the most; they prepared themselves to say goodbye to their future daughter, who had left a bigger impact on their lives than they were expecting, but they were still a little upset that they couldn't convince her to stay, much less see her one last time before she left. Morgan had no idea where she had gone either, and the other future children said that she didn't contact any of them before she disappeared. Only Naga knew where she was now.

Soon after, the children eventually decided to go back to their own world, so as not to interfere with this universe's timeline. After their baby selves were born, they each took their leave one by one, saying goodbye to their parents and allies and going to see where their lives were headed once they returned to their old time. Morgan was the last of the future children to remain in this world, though even he wondered when and if he should leave. He missed his sister and wanted nothing more than to be with her again to create new memories with her, but he saw how much her disappearance affected their parents, especially their mother. Robin was already emotionally exhausted from raising baby Lucina and carrying baby Morgan inside of her, and her future daughter's sudden leave certainly didn't make things any better. Morgan decided that he couldn't add to his mother's and father's distress by leaving shortly thereafter as well, at least until this world's Morgan was born. So he spent the years playing the older brother for baby Lucina and gradually watched her grow up into an energy-filled toddler. Now that she could run around, talk, and play, she was really keeping him busy from thinking about his older sister, and the sadness he felt from her absence slowly began to numb away. He did think it was a little strange to hear her call him "big brother" when in reality she was the older one, but she was too young to understand the concepts of time travel and he didn't want to hurt her little mind. Besides, he was still recovering from his own amnesia and the light head trauma he brought upon himself from trying to induce some flashback triggers.

On the night before the anniversary of Lucina's disappearance, Morgan tried to keep his mind occupied by reading one of his mother's books on tactics. He was starting to get into the chapter on the fundamentals of the weapon triangle when he heard the door of his room slowly creak open, and tiny little footsteps scurrying towards his desk. He glanced up from the page he was on only to be met with a pair of big, shiny blue eyes, one of them carrying the Brand of the Exalt in the iris, staring back at him.

"You're up awfully late, Lucina." He chuckled, putting down the book and picking the child up to hold in his lap. "What are you doing?"

She played with her fingers nervously as she spoke in a low, serious tone, "I…I had a question I wanted to ask you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I want to know…why does Father look so sad when I'm around him?"

Morgan tilted his head in curiosity. "What do you mean, Lucina?"

The little girl looked down at her feet. "Well, tonight when he tucked me into bed, I gave him a kiss on the cheek like I always do…but he kind of frowned when I did that. But when I asked him about it, he just said it was nothing and kissed me on the forehead. But still…I don't know why he did that. And it's not just him. Mother does it too sometimes and…look, even you're doing it right now!"

The young tactician wasn't even aware of how sullen he was until Lucina called him out on it, and he did feel a pang of sadness in his chest after she brought it up. He thought he could finally understand now. Lucina was four years old, and already she was starting to resemble her older self in her appearance and mannerisms. Her ability to sense her loved ones' distress was a trait she always possessed, and even her younger self was showing signs of being able to use it. He let out a long, dragging sigh as he patted the little girl on the head.

"I don't get it…" She mumbled. "Do I just make people upset?"

"Of course not, Lucina!" Morgan quickly tried to dispel her negativity. "You brighten up everyone's day with just your smile! Mother and Father are happy to have you for a daughter."

"Then why do they look so sad?"

Morgan bit his lip, wondering how he should go about this. It seemed the time has come to explain to Lucina everything that had happened, but he just wasn't sure how to go about it. "Well…Lucina, did Father ever tell you about the war he fought in?"

Lucina's eyes brightened up at the mention of that. "Uh-huh! It's my favorite bed time story! He found Mother unconscious in the fields, and together they fought their way through many battles and defeated Grima!"

Morgan laughed at her enthusiasm. "That's right, Lucina, they did. But…they had a little help."

"A little help?" She repeated, voice full of marvel and bewilderment.

"Yes. In fact, without this help…this world wouldn't even be here right now. You see…" This was going to be hard to explain to a four-year-old…about how her mother was corrupted by Grima and was fated to slay her husband and let the world fall into shambles, but he had to do it somehow. "…the original future…consisted of Grima defeating the Shepherds and taking over the world. Mother and Father and the rest of the Shepherds were killed, and humanity was at a decline."

Lucina gasped, shocked and even more confused than ever. "B-But Father is alive!"

"Yes, he is. This was a future that could have happened if…if…you hadn't stepped in…"

Morgan looked at his young-older sister and saw that he had lost her. He sighed and tried to explain it in a way she would understand, "Well, your older self. She time travelled from the bad future to try and stop it from happening."

"You mean…I was older when I helped fight Grima? But…I don't remember anything like that…"

"I know. She came from the future, the bad one that would have happened if she didn't intervene when she did. She fought alongside Mother and Father to help put a stop to Grima…and afterwards…she just suddenly vanished."

Lucina seemed to have understood and nodded her head slowly. "Oh…I wish I could have met her. She sounds amazing."

"She is…best big sister ever…" Morgan smiled sadly. "But yeah…you're starting to look like her now. I mean…of course you do because you and she are the same. And Mother and Father never really got a chance to tell her goodbye, so they miss her a lot. That's why they look at you sadly, at least that's what I think because I miss her too. But we really do love you, Lucina. It's not your fault."

For a long time, neither of the two said a word, instead just listening to the noises of the night. The starts twinkled in their place and the crickets chirped their song loudly outside. It was very relaxing.

"Morgan?" Lucina asked.

"Hm?"

"I…didn't tell anyone else this, but…I had a dream of her when I was very little."

Morgan looked at her with surprise. "You dreamt about your future self?"

"I was a tiny baby," she explained. "And there was this woman…who I guess looked like me. She was standing over my crib, and she whispered to me."

"What did she say?"

"She said…that I would live in a happier time and to take care of my parents because she wouldn't be around to do it. She looked so sad too, like she wanted to cry. It all felt so real…"

"I see…" For some reason, this bothered Morgan. The way Lucina was able to recall it so vividly…it couldn't have been a dream. "Lucina, did she say where she was going?"

"I…I don't know." Lucina shook her head solemnly. "I think she was with another person…Naga."

"Naga was there too?"

"Yes. And Naga said she was going to bring her to a place where she could finally know peace. I don't know what place she was talking about though…but it was only a dream."

"Yes…only a dream." The young man pondered this further. It would be rather hard, but…he needed answers. Maybe he could find his sister and have her assure their parents that she was alright and everything in their time was back to normal. The younger Lucina in his lap let out a yawn, and he could tell that she was ready to fall asleep.

"C'mon, let's get you back to bed." He gently lifted her off his lap and took her tiny hand into his as he led her back to her bedroom, which she shared with her newborn brother. His baby self was fast asleep in his crib, and he had to admit that it was kind of strange seeing himself at so young an age.

He helped Lucina into her bed and tucked her snugly under the blankets. "Goodnight, Lucina."

"Goodnight, Morgan." She whispered tiredly. "Thank you for…making me feel better."

"Anytime." He gave her a light kiss on the cheek before quietly leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. As he walked back to his own room, Lucina's words echoed in his mind.

_A place where she could finally know peace…_

He had no idea what kind of place that could be, nor where it was, but he decided that this could be his best lead into finding Lucina. Once he reached his room, he went over to his desk and pulled out a flower, Naga's Bell to be more specific. He found this flower while helping Nah look for it to use as an offering for Naga, and he decided to keep one for himself. Hoping that Naga would hear him, he held the flower close to his chest and uttered a low prayer:

"Naga…please, hear my call. I want answers…what happened to my sister?"

Thinking he would get no response that night, Morgan put the flower away and went over to his bed. He was about to pull the sheets over his head and fall asleep when a shining light suddenly appeared in his room. He squinted his eyes from the radiance and once the light dissipated completely, there stood Naga right in front of him.

"I come to the sound of your beckoning, young tactician." She said. "Pray tell, what do you require of my assistance."

_Well, that took faster than I expected. _Morgan's jaw hung open, but he immediately closed it when he remembered what he wanted to ask her. "Oh, um, ahem. Sorry, I just…" He sighed. "Naga…as you know, my sister went missing a few years ago without any notice. I just want to know where she is…so that I may join her eventually."

Naga remained silent for a long time. Thinking she didn't hear him- he was mumbling after all- he was about to repeat his question when she suddenly responded, "I'm afraid I cannot take you to her."

Morgan didn't know what to say. He didn't think his request was that unreasonable. What could she have meant by that? "But…you're a divine being…surely, you can…"

"Morgan…she is not on this world anymore."

"Y-You mean…" He couldn't bring himself to say it. Lucina was young and healthy and strong…she couldn't be… "What happened to her?"

Naga had a distant look on her face, almost as if delivering this news was painful, even for her. "Carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders for many years took its toll on her mind and body. She had no internal or external wounds, but the stress of fighting for peace and order drained her of whatever strength and energy she had left. Her last request was to know a true peace…and she is experiencing it now."

"I…I see." Morgan was surprised that he was still retaining his composure even upon hearing this. Maybe it was the fact that he was in the presence of a goddess that was keeping him strong, or maybe it was knowing that Lucina was finally free of all burdens and stress that she had to suffer through for so long. He wasn't sure. In a low voice, he murmured, "Thank you for letting me know…"

Naga nodded. "Is that all you required of me?"

"Yes. I appreciate you telling me where Lucina is. At least I know now…"

The small aura from Naga's presence slowly faded out as the Divine Dragon disappeared from the room, leaving Morgan in the dark comforts of his room.

_Lucina…this was what you wanted, isn't it? That's so like you…not wanting anyone to concern themselves with your wellbeing…I see…I know why you didn't tell anyone now…_

A sob threatened to come out, but Morgan was unwilling to let himself cry. Lucina wouldn't want him to grieve for her, instead wanting him to stay strong throughout this, not just for his sake, but for hers as well. With these words in his heart and on his mind, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"I'm going back to my own time."

Chrom and Robin looked at him sadly; they couldn't say that they weren't expecting this since all of the other children were leaving shortly after they were born, but they still felt the pain of letting their child go for good when he announced that. At least he had the courtesy of letting them know where he was going before he left.

"I'm sure you'll raise Morgan and Lucina well." He continued. "And…who knows…maybe I'll regain my memories."

He meant it to be funny, but instead Robin fell forward into his arms, crying softly into his shoulder. Chrom followed up next, wrapping his arms around his wife and son tightly for the last time.

"Thank you so much for everything, Morgan…" He whispered, trying to keep his tears in check. "For helping us in the war…to babysitting young Lucina. We'll never forget this, my son."

"I love you so much, Morgan." Robin sobbed. "Please…take care of yourself…and say hi to your sister for us when you see her."

Morgan gulped, letting out a shaky breath as he nodded. He didn't have the heart to tell his parents that he wouldn't be seeing Lucina there. "I will…and…I'm sure we'll all meet again in some time. Mother, Father…thank you. I'll continue your legacy and make you proud."

And so, once their tearful farewells were said and final embraces exchanged, Morgan left the castle. He didn't want to turn back, but he still found himself taking one last look at the place he called home since journeying to this time. There, in the window of her bedroom, was little Lucina holding his baby self in her arms, tears spilling down both her cheeks. It seemed she too knew that the time had come for him to depart. The sight of her made him want to cry, but he remained strong in his resolve and instead gave her a small wave. She nodded at him, a look of determination spreading across her face…just like _she_ always did.

"Yours will be a happy one, Lucina." Morgan whispered to himself as he turned his heel to leave.

He didn't know what the future had in store for him, or what awaited him once he crossed that path to his own timeline, but he did know that the peace and stability he, his family, and his friends fought so valiantly for would not be in vain, and maybe…just maybe…his parents would be there too, waiting for him in the end. He smiled, prepared to take on the next stage in his walk of life.

_Watch over me, Lucina. I'll show you the future you worked so hard for to achieve…the future you longed to have._

And as Morgan was about to take his final steps in this time, he could have sworn he heard someone say to him, in that familiar, tranquil voice of hers:

G_ood luck…little brother._


End file.
